


Two Worlds: One Bond

by Ireallylovepuppies101



Category: Les Schtroumpfs | The Smurfs, Trolls (2016)
Genre: F/F, M/M, and then ends as a chapter story, magical medieval AU, starts as a chapter story, then turns into a oneshot story, will add more tags later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-04-21 10:52:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14283345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ireallylovepuppies101/pseuds/Ireallylovepuppies101
Summary: An AU where Trolls and Smurfs are human sized in a magical old timeline, when the world of Trolls and Smurfs meet, and create one of the most beautiful magical bonds in that world.Thank you PriestessOfNox for helping me with this AU and inspiring me to write it. :)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Changing up my writing style a little bit. Trying something new. :)

On a beautiful warm day, Hefty Smurf, along with Brainy, Clumsy, and Smurfette, were accompanying their Papa Smurf to a market far from their village to collect ingredients for Papa's potions and help him refresh his supplies.

Unfortunately, they all had to be extremely careful. As a Smurf, they look like somewhat normal people, minus the fact that the large amount of magic in them turns them blue and gives them long lives.

  
With Hunters in the market, all of them kept themselves covered to keep anyone with wandering eyes from noticing them. The last thing they need is to be caught and sold to some greedy wizard wanting their magic for themselves.

Hefty was at the back of the small group, looking around to make sure no one was watching them. He stopped when he heard Papa talk. "Oh now that's just a shame, poor young man..."

Looking in the direction Papa Smurf was looking, Hefty felt his stomach drop a little. This was always the worse part about going to any market.

A group of people and creatures were crowded around a stage, where this very unattractive woman along with some ugly looking guards stood. Also on stage, between the two guards, was a young man. His hands where tied behind his back to a post.

He was shifting around as much as he could, trying to get his hands free of the ropes so he could attempt to escape, but his situation seemed pretty bleak.

The woman stepped forward. "STEP RIGHT UP! THIS IS A ONCE AND A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY FOR MANY OF YOU PEOPLE HERE IN THE MARKET! GET YOUR VERY OWN TROLL!"

Adjusting his glasses, Brainy looked at the said troll.

"I've heard about this. Trolls are magical beings with rainbow hair colors and musical voices. They use to be in slavery before a majority of them escaped 20 years ago. Bergans are still hunting them down and catching whatever trolls they can find. I've also heard rumors that Bergans use older trolls as magic ingredients to make potions of pure happiness."

  
The genius smurf however hummed curiously. "Strange, he has the ears of a troll, but his hair is as black as a lump of coal. I guess not every troll has rainbow hair."

Clumsy had his hand over his chest, looking at the troll sadly. "Oh how awful." Grabbing Papa's arm, Smurfette gave it a gentle squeeze. "Papa can't we help him?"

Sighing, the elder smurf sadly shook his head."I'm afraid not. Bergans are very dangerous beings to toy with and we don't have enough money to try buying him ourselves. There are just some things that are out of our hands. Come along now, we need to get going."

As the group started to move again, Hefty kept his eyes on the troll longer. The troll had all kinds of emotions on his face. Anger, determination, and fear. Lots of fear.

  
There was no way Hefty was going to let this slide.

______________

He was the most careful Troll in Troll Village. Warning everyone about the Bergans, making a bunker out of an underground cave he discovered as a kid, teaching himself how to survive in the woods, and he ends up getting caught.

Just great.

The sun was starting to go down, and Branch was moved to a privet spot behind the market until his buyer could come pick him up.

  
He gave another pull at the ropes, feeling his arms ache from fighting against them so long. He may be going down but he sure as hell isn't going down without a fight. Despite all of this, Branch could only think one thing.

At least he kept Poppy safe.

Looking over, Branch watched as the guards snored away under the shade of a tree nearby. Morons, if he gets stolen by some thief their heads will get served on a silver platter.

  
"Pst-" Gasping in alarm, Branch swung his leg at the stranger who appeared out of no where and kicked him HARD in the stomach. Grunting, the stranger dropped to his knees and did his best to muffle his coughing until he could catch his breath.

"Wow, you trolls are stronger then you look..." Branch glared at him deeply as he stood back up and removed the hood of his cloak.

Hefty, now well aware of the punch these troll packed, approached carefully. "I'm not here to hurt you okay? I'm going to untie you and get you out of here, but you need to trust me."

Staring at the blue stranger for a moment, Branch looked back at the sleeping guards, then looked at Hefty, giving him a nod. Untying the ropes, Hefty put his hand on Branch's back and started leading him away.

  
"Come on, lets-" Hearing an alarmed snort, the two men turned and saw the guards scrambling to their feet. "HEY!"

Groaning, Hefty grabbed Branch's arm. "Ah Smurf, RUN!"

________________

Sitting around the camp fire, the three younger smurfs watched as their Papa paced around their camp sight. "I swear, when Hefty gets back he will be GROUNDED until he's my age! No, He'll be grounded until he's TWICE MY AGE!"

Brainy, Clumsy, and Smurfette cringed. It's been a few hours since Hefty took off, and Papa was beyond angry when he realized one of his smurflings was missing.

  
Standing up, Smurfette carefully walked over to the very upset elder. "Papa, I'm sure Hefty had a good reason to just leave like this. I doubt the last thing he wants to do is worry you so badly." Papa smurf was about to reply when they head something approach.

Everyone standing up, they watched as Hefty came back, with the troll from the market.

  
Brainy facepalmed. "Oh Hefty you didn't." Glaring at Brainy, Hefty looked at Papa Smurf nervously. "I couldn't just leave him like that Papa..."

Staring at the two for a moment, the elder took a deep breath and looked at Smurfette. "Please get our guest the spare clean clothes and shoes we have for Clumsy and get him something to eat. Hefty, come with me."

Gulping, Hefty patted Branch's back gently. "I'll be back soon." Nodding, Branch watched as Hefty walked away with the older Smurf. Not a moment later, Clumsy walked up and looked him over.

"Wow, so are you really a troll? You're not very colorful, but your ears sure are big!" Glaring at Clumsy, Branch didn't respond. With some fresh clean clothes in her hands Smurfette walked over.

  
"Clumsy, give him some space. Sorry about that. I'll get your dinner ready while you get dressed." Taking the clothes, Branch nodded in response before walked off to some bushes for some privacy to change.

By the time he got the clothes on he could amusingly hear Hefty get scolded like a child by his Papa. "-DANGEROUS, IRRESPONSIBLE, RECKLESS THING YOU'VE DONE YET HEFTY SMURF!"

  
Sitting down by the fire, Branch held up his cold hands by the flames and looked around at the others.

Rumors about smurfs were pretty accurate. They all had on the same white hat, and their skin was as blue as the sky from the magic within them. The one wearing glasses was writing something down in a book he had in his hands, the one with the larger hat was trying to cook a piece of food on a stick.

Only to start panicking when the food caught on fire and trying to put it out. Now he knows why they call him Clumsy.

The only girl in the group was mixing something in a pot that was hanging over the fire. Once she was done she took a ladle and pored the stew she was cooking into a bowl and handed it to Branch. "Here you go! Our famous Smurfberry stew! Eat up!"

  
Taking the bowl and the spoon Smurfette offered to him, Branch took a small bite. It was an interesting tasting stew, something he never had before, but it was actually pretty good so Branch started digging in.

By the time Branch was getting his second serving, Hefty and Papa came back, Hefty looking like a child who was grounded out of doing anything fun for the rest of his life.

  
Kneeling next to Branch, Papa looked at the rope burn marks on the trolls wrists. "May I see your arms? I want to make sure you weren't badly hurt from your, situation." Looking at Papa smurf for a moment to make sure he wasn't up to anything suspicious, Branch carefully put the bowl down and held up his arms to the elder. With the most gently care he could, Papa held his arms and examined them carefully.

"I have a special ointment that should help this heal faster and reduce the pain. I can tell though you are quite the fighter young man. You were very brave." Grabbing the ointment from his bag, Papa smurf got to work.

Branch looked at him as he was doing this. Papa smurf was a very fatherly person, and it made Branch feel kinda weird, not a bad weird, but still weird.

  
Once he was done, Papa put his supplies back in his bag. Caught by surprise when you young man in front of him spoke. "Thank you sir."

Looking up, Papa blinked a few times but soon chuckled warmly and patted the troll's head of messy black hair. "It's no problem. May I ask what your name is though?" Shifting nervously, Branch tried to ignore how everyone was staring at him now. "Branch."

  
Smiling, Papa turned and pointed at his smurflings. "The one who rescued you is Hefty, the one next to him is Clumsy and the one in the glasses is Nerdy-"

Stopping in his writing, Brainy groaned in annoyance as he looked at Papa who was chuckling. "I'm just kidding, his name is actually Brainy, and the lovely young lady with us is Smurfette."

Branch gave a timid wave to everyone. "Hey."

Standing back up, Papa Smurf looked at the night sky. "Well my little Smurflings, I think it's about time we get some shut eye. Tomorrow we'll help Branch get home and then head home ourselves."

As everyone settled down, Hefty walked over to Branch and held up a blanket to him. "You can use mine."

Looking at the blanket, Branch was about to decline before Hefty put the blanket around Branch's shoulders. Sighing, the troll looked at the strong smurf. "Thanks." Smiling Hefty walked to where he'd be sleeping and laid down.

Branch watched as everyone settled down and soon closed his eyes as well.

____________

Movement was the first thing Hefty heard as he woke up.

He carefully cracked an eye open, it was still dark out and the fire was getting dimmer, but he could see Branch moving around the camp and carefully going though their bags. He was pulling out things until he found what he was looking for, one of their maps.

Putting everything he took out back in the bags, Branch stood up and turned to Hefty. Quickly closing his eye, Hefty pretended to be asleep as he heard Branch get closer. He soon felt warmth spread around him.

The blanket he gave Branch was still warm from the trolls body heat. He then heard Branch whisper. "Thanks for everything, but I can't risk you guys following me home." Hefty listened as Branch's footsteps got quieter, opening his eyes, the strong smurf watched as Branch walked away. Quietly getting up, Hefty began to follow Branch.

There was no way he was going to let this idiot walk all the way back home by himself with no protection. He followed the barely visible figure for a few minutes until the sound of a stick snapping made him freeze and look around.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood, someone was watching him.

Before he could call out to Branch a net was shot out at him and made him slam hard into the ground. The two Bergan guards from earlier walked over laughing. "Wow, Chef sure will be pleased once we recapture the troll and bring her five smurfs as a bonus!"

They know where the camp is.

That was very bad.

As one of the Bergans reached down to grab Hefty-

  
_**WHACK!**_

  
The large creature suddenly fell over. Before the other Bergan could react, Branch quickly swung the large, branch, and hit the him hard in the head. Making him fall over unconscious with his partner.

Breathing hard, the troll kicked the two men to make sure they weren't going to get up before moving to help Hefty out of the net. "Are you okay?"

  
Still surprised by Branch rescuing him, Hefty nodded. "I'm fine. That was, impressive."

Helping Hefty to his feet, Branch looked around at the Bergans at their feet. If these blood thirsty creatures were after the Smurfs they wouldn't give up easily. The Smurfs were just as safe as him out here in the woods.

He can't let these people get hurt after they risked so much to help him.

"Get your family and pack up, you're coming with me."


	2. Chapter 2

"-AND YOU WERE JUST GOING TO LEAVE US WITHOUT A MAP!"

Feeling his patience running thin, Hefty looked at Brainy in annoyance. "Brainy, we have 2 more maps." The smart Smurf stubbornly crossed his arms as they continued to walk.

"He doesn't know that! This whole rescue stunt of yours has caused to much trouble!" Feeling quite annoyed with Brainy himself, Branch smirked as he watched Hefty attempting to shove Brainy's hat in his mouth.

Getting between the two, Papa smurf took back Brainy's hat from Hefty and handed it back to it's rightful owner. "Brainy I understand that you're not happy over what happened, but you need to understand that Branch came back to help us. He could have left us to fend for ourselves but he didn't."

Putting his hat back on, Brainy muttered a "Yes Papa." as they continued on.

After getting everyone to pack up their things and get going, Branch has been going through an internal battle with his mind. Bringing strangers home was probably a bad idea. They could get captured though if he doesn't take them with. They could ALL get captured if he does take him with.

During his internal battle, without thinking much, Branch reached out and grabbed Clumsy who just tripped and was about to fall.

Back on his feet, Clumsy sighed in relief. "Thanks Branch!" Before Branch could say 'you're welcome' he grabbed Clumsy AGAIN before he could trip and face plant into a mud puddle "You really live up to your name don't you?"

Chuckling a little, Smurfette looped Clumsy's arm around hers to help her friend from falling over, again. Looking over a Papa, Branch asked a question that's been in his mind since he met everyone.

"So you basically name everyone after their dominant trait or something?" Laughing a little, Papa nodded.

"It seems pretty obvious now doesn't it?" It did indeed. During their walk to Troll Village Hefty picked up a rather large and heavy log that was in their path and actually threw it pretty far, far enough to make Branch's jaw drop by how impressive that was. Proving he was named Hefty for a good reason.

Despite how he was still bitter over last night, Brainy's curiosity won and made him ask. "So, Branch, as long as we're asking questions, how did you get captured in the first place?" Before Papa could scold Brainy for asking that so bluntly, Branch spoke up first.

"I was protecting my friend. It was either me or her." That caught Hefty's attention. Her? Was Branch protecting his girlfriend or something?

Branch continued speaking. "She was following me as I gathered supplies for my home in the woods. I told her to be quiet but she just kept singing her heart out so I just ignored her. Then the Hunters showed up. I told her to run as I tried to fight them off. They ended up overpowering me. It's for the best. If they caught her the village would have been devastated to loose our princess."

Smurfette gasped in awe. "You're friends with a princess?" Snorting, Branch rolled his eyes. "EVERYONE back home is friends with Princess Poppy. I was the only one who didn't want to be friends with her. Somehow though, she managed to become friends with the village lone wolf."

Listening Branch talk about the princess, it sounded like he and Poppy weren't dating at all.Why did that make Hefty feel relieved?

Papa Smurf went over and patted Branch's back. "I'm sure Poppy and your family misses you dearly Branch." The troll tenced at the word family, but he didn't say anything about it. "T-thank you sir." They all continued walking for a while until they all stopped for lunch. Looking at the bushes, Clumsy humed curiously at the bush with tiny blue colored berries.

They looked kinda like Smurf Berries. Maybe they'd be okay to eat? As he reached for one Branch spoke up. "I wouldn't eat that if I were you." Pulling his hand back, Clumsy mumbles. "Well now all I want to do now is eat it..."

Rolling his eyes, Branch ate his food in silence until Smurfette sat next to him with her own food in her blue hands.

"So what's your village like? Is it beautiful." Swallowing, Branch shrugged. "It is, but it's also obnoxiously colorful, and loud. Honestly I'm surprised we haven't been discovered yet."

Hearing an alarmed yelp behind them, Branch and Smrufette turned and saw Clumsy, who was now covered in dark blue spots. Branch gave an exasperated look as he slapped his forehead "I TOLD YOU NOT TO EAT THAT CLUMSY!"

Watching as Clumsy puffed up like a bread with to much yest, Branch sighed and shook his head while Papa and Brainy rushed to Clumsy. "He'll be fine in an hour. Until then we can just roll him down the path." Now assured that Clumsy would be okay. Brainy pulled out his journal and wrote this down. "Fascinating. How did you know that would happen?"

Going down memory lane, Branch chuckled. "Poppy picked them to make muffins out of them. Half the village was rolling around all day." When the other started to laugh, Branch continued the story in more detail as they continued to eat.

_________

They continued their walking until night fell and they had to set up camp. After a few minutes of back and forth arguing, Branch ended up having Hefty's blanket again for the night. Sleeping harder due to not getting as much sleep as he wanted the night before, Hefty didn't wake until Branch started gently tapping his shoulder. "Pst, Hefty."

Grunting, Hefty sat up and rubbed his eyes. About to ask what Branch was doing, the troll quickly cut him off. "Be quiet and follow me."

Confused, Hefty did as Branch said and followed him. Looking around at the trees, Branch found one that seemed to satisfy him and easily started to climb it. Still very confused, Hefty followed Branch's lead and started climbing too.

He only stopped when Branch sat down on one of the trees limbs and started staring off into the distance. Sitting down as well, Hefty looked at where Branch was staring. "I use to do this all the time when I was a kid." Before Hefty could question him, Hefty's voice caught in his throat as he watched the sun rise over the valley below. The smurf could have sworn it sparkled in the morning light.

"It's beautiful..." Nodding, Branch played with his fingers a little. He never thanked the strong smurf properly, so. "Hefty?"

Taking his eyes off the view, Hefty looked at Branch. "Yeah?" Branch turns to Hefty and smiles softly, his face highlighted by the rising sun and the sparkle from the valley below. "Thank you for rescuing me."

This took Hefty's breath away. Everytime he saw Branch smile it was always a half smirk. Branch was giving him a genuine smile in appreciation, and it was beautiful.

_'Oh Smurf I'm in love.'_

"Y-you're welcome..."

Branch's smile soon faded into a concerned frown. "Are you okay? Your face is turning really dark blue. That doesn't mean you can't breath or anything right?"

Now aware of his face heating up, Hefty rubbed his cheek nervously with one of his hands. "Oh nonono! I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine! I'm just a little warm is all!"  
Branch raised an eyebrow and looked at him confused. "Okaaaaay? Lets, head back to camp before everyone wakes up and starts freaking out." Nodding in agreement, Hefty followed Branch down the tree as his mind kept going.

_'Oh SMURF I think I'm in LOVE!!!'_

____________

At the edge of Troll Village, Princess Poppy leaned against a large boulder and started at the trap door in front of her. Her friends and father have tried everything to cheer her up ever since Branch was taken, and Poppy did manage to put on a smile for everyone so they wouldn't worry as much, but no one could deny the fact that Poppy lost part of her spark of happiness.

Even in a certain light, people would say her hair isn't as brightly pink as it use to be. Though who could blame her? Branch worked so hard to keep himself safe in case of a Bergan attack, and all of that work went to waist the moment she finally became his friend, and he threw his life away for her. She could still hear Branch yelling at her to run, run as fast as she could and not to look back.

Heck, she could still hear the way he would say her name. It started sounding pretty real now too. Maybe the guilt is starting to get to her a little to much now?

"POPPY!"

Snapping her head up, Poppy gasped. Walking towards her was a group of strangers with blue skin and white hats, and leading that group was-.

Standing up, Poppy ran forward with her arms wide open.

"BRAAAAAAAANCH!"

Fully aware that there was no way to stop her, Branch sighed and held up his arms, bracing for impact. Throwing herself, Poppy ignored the fact that she used so much force it sent Branch onto his back and got them both laying in the dirt. Instead she just put her heart into giving the strongest hug she could with as much love as possible into it.

"YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK OH MY GOD I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN BRANCH I'M SO SOOOOORRYYYYYYY!"

Groaning from the most painful hug he ever received, Branch patted Poppy's back, glaring as some of the smurfs behind him started snickering. Once the two sat up Branch tried calming Poppy down who was now crying heavily onto his shoulder and reassured her he was okay.

Giggling at the cute sight in front of them, Smurfette put her hand over her heart. "Wow, she really missed him-"

Looking at Hefty, the female Smurf paused. "...Are you pouting?" Hefty quickly turned his head away from her. "No."

Noticing that Hefty was in fact pouting, Clumsy poked his shoulder. "You're not jealous, are you Hefty?" He quickly turned his head away again to avoid Clumsy's gaze.

"NO!" Scoffing, Brainy just rolled his eyes. "Don't be weird." Hefty shot him an annoyed glare. "You don't be weird."

Once Poppy was calm enough, she and Branch both stood up as the princess quickly cleaned the rest of the tears off her face. "Thank you, for bringing Branch back home." Smiling, Papa Smurf bowed his head slightly. "It was no problem your highness, we Smurfs always try to do the right thing."

Looking at each one, Poppy spotted Hefty. During her crying Branch explained that the muscles of the group was the one that saved him from the Bergans. Walking over to him, the princess pulled him into a tight hug. "Thanks for getting him away from the Bergan jerkfaces."

A little caught off guard that he was being hugged by ROYALTY, Hefty nervously patted her back. "You're welcome."

  
Ending the hug, Poppy smiled excitedly. "So, since Branch said the Bergans tried hunting you guys too, I'm sure my dad will me all to happy to welcome you guys to stay here for a while! Heck, we could even throw a party to welcome you here!" Papa Smurf chuckled. "That's alright Princess Poppy, there's no need for going through so much trouble just for-"

Poppy cut him off as she looped arms with Branch and Smurfette. "You can just call me Poppy, and it's no problem at all! We LOVE throwing parties! Come on! Oooh I really love your dress! Smurfette right?"

As the girls started talking, the group walked further into the village. Moving next to Branch, Hefty whispered. "Is everyone as, excitable, as her?"

Branch, already looking tired from the few minutes with Poppy, nodded. "Welcome to Troll Village..."


	3. Chapter 3

Branch was not kidding when he said everyone else was a happy ball of energy. Despite being in hiding, the Trolls were glad to welcome them with open arms and celebrate their company with an obnoxiously loud party.

Branch had slipped away earlier, saying he wasn't really a party person, and what bothered Hefty the most was that no one really seemed to care or notice.

This guy threw away his life to protect their princess, and Poppy is the only one who was head over heals about him being back? Sure her dad was thankful that Branch protected his daughter but he put more of his attention on the celebration.

All of that just didn't feel right to Hefty Smurf, so when he got the chance, he slipped away from the party as well and walked back to Branch's home.

Getting on his knees, the Smurf knocked on the trap door on the ground. "Go away Poppy, I told you I don't want to party."

Hefty chuckled. "Actually Branch it's me. Can I come in before your people realize I'm not at the party and come find me?"

There was a moment of silence before the door opened for Hefty. Jumping in, Hefty whistled at the sight in front of him.

Most of the homes at Troll Village were up in the trees, Poppy's home being in the biggest tree in the dead middle of the village. Branch's home on the other hand was made in an underground cave. Hefty could tell it was worked hard on over the years and Branch put his heart and soul into making it perfectly safe in case anything ever went wrong.

"Now this is impressive. You did all of this by yourself?" Walking off towards his kitchen, Branch started grabbing things to make tea for him and Hefty. "Yup. A kid can be pretty productive when he has 20 years to himself."

Sitting down at the table, Hefty continued to look around, noticing that there was an invitation sitting on the table for the party going on right now. When did Poppy have time to make that? They threw the party minutes within their arrival.

"So you've been on your own for 20 years?" Handing Hefty his cup, Branch sat down as well. "Yup. The adults and King Peppy would check on me to make sure I was okay, but if they tried forcing me to live with another family I would just run. It didn't feel right being thrown into someone else's life."

Nodding, Hefty took all this information in as he carefully sipped his hot tea.

So Branch was an orphan. No wonder he thought he could get back to Troll Village on his own, he's always been on his own.

Noticing the Smurf was deep in thought taking that information in, Branch spoke up again. "But there was Poppy. For some weird reason ever since she learned how to crawl she's been following me around and trying to be my friend."

The troll chuckled as he played with his cup. "I normally just tolerated her out of respect that she's the princess, but she started to grow on me. She is the only one who cares enough about a gray guy like me to keep trying."

Hefty looked back towards the direction of the trap door, still hearing the muffled loud music from the party outside. "I noticed. It seemed like she was the only one who was head over heals about you coming back."

Branch scoffed. "Of coarse she is, she's the only one who likes me and doesn't find my warning about the Bergans to annoying. Though to be fair I could work on my timing with the warnings..."

He was pretty sure he ruined a wedding, and a funeral, but there's no way he's telling Hefty that.

With his cup now empty, Branch got up to make himself some more tea. "But the thing is with trolls, we're suppose to be naturally happy people. When tragic things happen we just put on a smile, sing a happy song, and get on with our lives. It's how we coped when people we loved were taken from us so those monsters could feel happiness, before King Peppy lead us all to freedom."

Even with his back turned to the Smurf as he made more tea, Hefty could still see how Branch's grip on his cup was tightening.

"It is okay to feel sad over the tragic things in life Branch. Trolls may be naturally happy, but feeling sad is a normal feeling too." Sighing, Branch's grip on the cup relaxed as he finished making more tea and sat down. "So Hefty, since you've seen my village, tell me about yours."

Branch was obviously trying to change the subject. Letting it slide, Hefty began talking. "It's a lot more simple then here that's for sure. Our houses are actually on the ground, and they're kinds, mushroom shaped in design." Branch raised an eyebrow at that part. "You guys live in giant mushrooms?"

Chuckling, Hefty continued. "It's kind of a Smurf structure tradition thing, been that way when I was a kid hundreds of years ago-"

Taking a drink of his tea, Branch nearly choked and started coughing. " HUNDREDS OF YEARS?!" Moving to pat Branch's back, Hefty smiled a little. "Yeah, I look pretty good for an old guy huh? And you don't even want to know how old Papa is."

With his coughing fit over, Branch pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face. "I heard rumors about Smurfs having long lives but this is ridiculous."

Laughing, Hefty sat back down. "And I heard rumors that Trolls love singing and dancing, but this party is ridiculous."

After Hefty said that, the two of them could hear Poppy shouting "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" and the crowd cheering. Rubbing his temple, Branch gave a tired sigh. "Unfortunately, you're totally right."

Looking at Branch a bit longer, Hefty blushed a little when an idea came to mind. "You know, if you want a break from this every once and a while, you could come to Smurf Village. It's a bit more peaceful there..."

Branch looked at Hefty in surprise. "Really?"

Hefty gave a nod. Taking a moment to think it over, Branch gave a small smile. "Well, considering you got to see my village, it would only be fair if I saw yours."

Hefty smiled brightly in excitement. "I'm sure you're going to love Smurf Village!" Giving a smirk, Hefty rolled up his sleeve and flexed his arm with the heart tattoo on it. "In Smurf Village, you get to see Hefty Smurf in action."

Branch just gave a scoff at Hefty trying to show off. "Wow, I can hardly wait to watch you pick up heavy stuff and move it around."

Laughing at Branch's sarcasm, Hefty put his empty cup in the sink. "I should probably get back to the others and get ready for bed. See you later?" Putting his own cup in the sink, Branch nodded. "See you later Hefty."

Once outside the bunker, Hefty Smurf stared down at the trap door a moment longer before turning and walking back towards Troll Village.

"Smurf...I really am in love..."


	4. Chapter 4

After a few days of staying in Troll Village and replenishing their supplies, the Smurfs were ready to leave along with a few Trolls. When learning that Branch wanted to see Smurf Village, Poppy insisted that she was coming with. Along with her, the Snack Pack had also decided they were going to tag along.

Well, so much for a peaceful trip Branch was hoping for. The entire way Poppy and the others were singing their lungs out, only stopping when it was time to eat or sleep.

The only one not singing like there's no tomorrow was Creek, who when not singing would talk to Brainy and answer questions the smart Smurf had about trolls. Both of them were surprisingly getting along very well.

Finally, after a whole day of walking, the next morning Papa Smurf stopped the group. "We're here." Looking over Papa's shoulder, Branch turned and looked back at the others who just seemed as confused as him when they didn't see anything.

Seeing Branch's confused reaction, Hefty laughed and grabbed his hand. "Watch this." Leading Branch forward, he heard him and the other Trolls gasp in SHOCK when they passed the magical camouflage shield.

Blinking, Branch stared at the sight in front of him. Hefty wasn't kidding when he said they made their houses look like giant mushrooms, and all around them were people with the same blue skin as Hefty and the others, wearing the same white hat too. "Whoa..."

Taking a running leap through the shield, Poppy gasped excitedly when she saw the village. "Oh, my, super gosh! Your village is SUPER CUTE!" Coming through the shield with everyone else, Papa chuckled. "Thank you Princess Poppy."

Seeing Papa and the others have returned and brought new guests, the other Smurfs began to gather around. Branch raised an eyebrow when he noticed something when all the Smurfs got closer. "How come the girls here have tan hats except for Smurfette?"

Stepping forward, Smurfette explained. "They're originally from another village before they all moved here. I grew up hear so I wear a white hat just like the boys." Nodding, Branch watched as the Smurfs interacted.

One girl Smurf was talking a mile a minute with Brainy asking about the trip, not really giving the smart smurf a chance to answer any questions. Another one with a clover on her hat walked over to Clumsy and looked him over, checking for any new injuries he might have gotten while he was gone. Seeing that he was fine she pulled him into a strong hug while Clumsy gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Following Branch's line of sight, Hefty chuckled. "That's Clumsy's girlfriend Storm. She has a bit of a tough girl act so, be careful not to make her mad."

Humming in response, Branch looked down when he realized something. "... Can I have my hand back now?"

Looking down as well, Hefty blushed and quickly let go of Branch's hand. "Sorry."

Approaching the group that just arrived, Willow smiled as she pulled Papa into a hug. "Welcome home Papa-thing." the elder smurf hugged back with a warm smile. "It's good to be back my dear."

After a moment, Willow pulled back from the hug and looked at their guests. "And who do we have here? I see you've made some, colorful friends." Giggling, Poppy did a curtsy.

"I'm Poppy, princess of the Trolls. Hefty Smurf saved my good friend Branch while they were on their trip to the market. As thanks we threw a large party welcoming our new friendship with the Smurfs." Behind Poppy, Brainy butted in.

"She also forced herself and her friends to come along because Branch wanted to see Smurfvillage and Papa couldn't say no." Laughing as Poppy gave Brainy a dirty look, Willow smiled kindly at the Princess. "A friend of Papa-thing is a friend of mine. Welcome to Smurf Village."

_________

After everyone got settled down and went back to their daily routine, the Trolls split ways to socialize and meet more Smurfs. Poppy went with Smurfette to pick Smurfberries while Branch went with Hefty to chop fire wood.

Slamming the ax down on the wood, Hefty wiped at his forehead and fanned himself with his hat. "So what do you think of Smurf Village?"

Grabbing the wood, Branch loaded it into the wheel barrel they brought along. "It's nice and quiet compared to home... It's also a little weird how all of you look so similar. A good handful of Smurfs I saw could pass off as your twin."

Laughing, Hefty grabbed another piece of wood to chop in half. "Yeah, I remember being younger and swapping clothes with some of the others to see if we could fool Papa. It never worked, he has an eye for the little details."

Branch smirked at the mental image. "Real cute... So, are Papa and Willow the only older Smurfs around? I've noticed they're the only ones with white hair."

Blushing from Branch calling him cute, Hefty tried to ignore it and slammed the ax down again on the wood. "Yup. Papa raised all the boy Smurfs and Willow raised all the girl Smurfs, minus Smurfette, after the Stork dropped us off." He saw in the corner of his eye how Branch stopped to process that.

"... You guys get dropped off by birds as babies?" Picking up the wood he just chopped, Hefty turned to Branch. "Yup. Probably pretty different compared to how you guys have babies."

Branch nodded. "Yeah actually. Though it's mostly done by magic. When a couple wants a baby their magic just kicks in and this, pod, starts growing on the tree they live in."

Now it was Hefty's turn to stop and think about that for a moment. "Huh... So I guess there's more to your magic then just making your hair colorful? It's also how you guys can have kids?" Running his fingers though his black hair, Branch ignored how his ears drooped a little.

"Yeah... There was also this story I was told when I was little about Troll magic." God that was so long ago, but if he remembered correctly...

"A long time ago, back then the Trolls lived at the first Troll tree before-... The thing happened, there was a terrible forest fire. The burning flames swallowed anything that got in its path, including the Troll tree and the village. Once the fire finally died out and it was safe to return, the Trolls gathered around the Troll tree which was now dead from the fire."

Sitting down on the stump he was chopping wood on, Hefty listened closely to Branch's story. "Despite loosing the tree and the village, all the people were filled with so much joy that they still had each other. So they all started to sing from the deepest part of their hearts, singing with so much passion that their true colors started to glow. Once they were done singing, the tree and the forest around them had come back to life."

Once the story was over, Branch went back to loading more of the fire wood into the wheel barrel. Watching him, Hefty asked. "If singing is so important to you guys, why don't you sing?"

Hefty noticed how Branch tensed slightly and avoided looking at him now. "I just don't."

"Why?"

"I just don't Hefty."

"But-"

Turning, the Troll glared at the Smurf."Hefty, DROP IT."

Everything went very quiet in the woods, even the animals and birds went silent. That was the first time Branch snapped at Hefty. Maybe he pushed him a little to much. "Sorry..."

Sighing, Branch pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Why did he bring up that stupid story? "Look, I get it. I'm not like the other trolls. I don't like parties, I don't like rainbows, I don't like glitter, bright colors, hugs, dancing OR singing! I'm the only troll with common sense about the dangers of this world and how cruel others can be just for their own benefit! That's why I don't sing, and I don't relax. It's the way I am and I LIKE IT."

A bit stunned by Branch's words, Hefty was about to say something when they heard a pair of voices scream. Turning towards the sounds, Branch gasped when he recognized one of the voiced. "POPPY!"

Realizing the other voice must have been Smurfette, Hefty grabbed the ax. "COME ON!"

_________

"-and then Smurf Storm just threw the flowers at Clumsy before running away. Ever since then they were just meant to be." Poppy giggled at the end of Smurfette's story. "Aaaaaw! True love!"

Giggling as well, Smurfette moved to the next Smurfberry bush and started picking the ripe berries. "Yup. Ever since the girls moved here the romance kinda doubled. Kinda makes me want to find my own special someone someday seeing how happy everyone is."

Looking at Smurfette, Poppy smiled. Standing up straight the Princess tried to make herself look cuter. "Well, if you ever get interested in a troll, I know these AWESOME places in Troll Village that would be totally romantic for a couple of cuties like us to hang out."

Caught completely by surprise, Smurfette nearly dropped her basket full of berries. The Troll princess was flirting with her. "I-I um, you'd- I mean... You think I'm cute?"

Putting down her basket, Poppy walked over and squished Smurfette's blushing blue cheeks with her hands. "You kidding? With that pretty golden hair and adorable face, you're the cutest! I'd totally date you if you'd let me!"

Wow, Poppy sure was blunt. Smurfette wasn't quite sure how to answer that.

Letting go of Smurfette's face, Poppy walked back to her basket and started picking Smurfberries again so Smurfette could think it over for a little bit. Still in a bit of a daze, Smurfette did the same, barely noticing when Poppy gasped excitedly.

"Aw a kitty!"

Wait, kitty?

Standing back up, Smurfette paled at the sight of Poppy reaching out of an orange and white cat. "Here little kitty cat!"

"POPPY NO!"

Looking back at Smurfette in alarm, the princess was about to ask what was wrong, when she noticed a shadow started towering over her. Slowly, Poppy turned her head to look at the little kitty, which was no longer little anymore.

Now, there was a big, lion sized cat BEAST growling down at her. "Not a little kitty cat, NOT A LITTLE KITTY CAT!"

Thinking fast, Smurfette grabbed the back of Poppy's dress and pulled, both girls screamed when Azrael's claws nearly missed the princess and completely destroyed the basket she was using. Getting Smurfberries splattered all over his face, Azrael growled as he attempted to clean off his eyes.

Holding Poppy's arm tightly, Smurfette ran back in the direction of Smurf Village, hearing Azrael giving chase. Looking over her shoulder, Poppy's eyes widened as she quickly shoved Smurfette and herself down before Azrael could jump them.

Flying over the girls, Azrael landed easily on his feet before turning around towards the two on the ground. Growling, the large beast was about to pounce again before an ax flew in front of his face and embedded itself into the tree next to him.

Before the monstrous feline could react, Hefty jumped onto Azrael's back and put him in a choke hold, holding on with all his might while Azrael tried throwing him off. Rushing over, Branch helped Poppy and Smurfette to their feet. "Are you two okay?"

When both girls confirmed they were okay, they all watched as Hefty and Azrael fought. Due to Hefty's choke hold, the cat wasn't getting the air he needed and was starting to slow down until he finally fell over on the dirt.

Not wanting to kill the beast, Hefty let go once he was sure Azrael wouldn't get up for a while. "We need to move before he wakes up."

Quickly, all four of them rushed back to Smurf Village. Once back in the safety of the shield, Branch finally asked. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT THING?! You said Smurf Village was peaceful! Not some place where you can get ripped to shreds by A GIANT DAMN MONSTER!"

Seeing the four rush into the village, Papa hurried over while Branch was yelling at Hefty. "Branch, language. Now what's this I hear about a monster?"

After Branch muttered a 'sorry' Hefty explained. "Azrael attacked in one of the Smurfberry fields Papa Smurf." Humming, the elder ran his fingers through his beard. "Is that so? Then we'll have to avoid that part of the forest for a while in case Gargamel attempts anything. Was anyone hurt?"

Before Hefty could reply Branch cut him off. "No but Poppy and Smurfette were nearly ripped apart by that thing. I want answers NOW. What was that thing, and who's Gargamel?" Understanding that Branch was clearly upset over this, Papa Smurf explained.

"Gargamel is an evil wizard who took residence nearby in order to hunt us down and use our magic for his own. That beast you saw was Azrael, one of his magical monster pets." Poppy grabbed onto Branch's arm nervously. "O-one of his pets?"

"He also has a bird named Monty that can do the same trick as Azrael, grow in size. I apologize that we didn't warn you about them sooner." Looking at the Smurfs in disbelief, Branch was about to say something before Poppy stopped him.

"It's okay Papa Smurf. We're all okay and that's all that matters. Please excuse us." Getting dragged away, Branch glared at Poppy. "This is NOT okay! They didn't tell us about a serious THREAT Poppy!"

Once at a distance where the others wouldn't hear, Poppy let go of Branch and crossed her arms. "It's NOT that big of a deal Branch. Lighten up a little, we're all okay, and lets not forget these people SAVED YOUR LIFE. Show a little more respect!"

Groaning in frustration, Branch turned his back to the princess and stomped off to the mushroom house they and the other trolls would be staying at.

This is what he gets for letting his guard down and trusting people he barely knows.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, so bunking with Poppy and the others was a bad idea.

Not only were they up at an ungodly hour laughing and giggling, but when they finally went to sleep about a good half of the group was obnoxiously snoring. INCLUDING Poppy. Trying to keep a hold on his sanity, Branch left the mushroom for some fresh air.

Walking around the village in the dead of the night, this gave Branch time to think. That whole thing with that cat monster, now that he had time to think it over and calm down, he might have blown it out of proportion.

He saw Poppy in danger, and that's all he could think about. Not how Hefty literally threw himself into danger and saved Poppy, along with Smurfette, and himself...Again.

If Hefty wasn't there Azrael would have attacked all of them, but Hefty saved the day.

That's what Hefty did. Save the day, protect the innocent at the cost of his own safety, and yet Branch YELLED at him.

Stopping in his walk, Branch let out a fustrated huff. "You really are an ass Branch..."

___________

Well, today could have gone much better.

Hefty Smurf was so excited to show off Smurf Village to Branch and spend the day with him, and what happened instead? Branch gets mad at him because he forgot about Gargamel.

How the Smurfy hell do they all forget about Gargamel?! He was the biggest threat they had to deal with in a long time!

Branch was already pissed with Hefty for pushing him with his questions, now he was probably furious with him because Poppy, the princess Branch threw his life away for, was attacked by Azrael!

And here he thought he had a chance with Branch. Looks like that wasn't happening. Smooth Hefty Smurf, real smooth.

Hefty spent the rest of his day in his mushroom house, working out to try relaxing a little and get his mind off of things. It didn't do much but it still kept him busy. Now with the sun gone until morning, the strong smurf laid in bed, staring at the ceiling while lost in his train of thought.

_Knock knock knock_

Sitting up, Hefty stared at his door in confusion. Who the Smurf was up at this time of night?... Other then himself of coarse. Getting up, Hefty looked out his window to see who it was.

Eyes widening in surprise, Hefty quickly moved to open the door. Once the door was wide open he stared at his guest. "Branch? Is everything okay?"

With his arms crossed, the Troll refused to look up at the Smurf. "...I'm sorry."

Well this was something Hefty was not expecting, especially in the middle of the night. "Um, it's okay Branch I-"

Sighing in frustration, Branch finally looked up at him. "No, it's not. I got pissed off at you after you saved Poppy's life, and my life AGAIN. You've been nothing but nice to me and I act like a jerk. You don't deserve me being an ass to you after you've been so kind... I'm sorry you ended up saving the one and only asshole troll in the world."

Seeing Branch attempting to turn away to leave, Hefty put his hands on his shoulders to keep him there. "Now hold on. Don't you dare apologize for me saving you at the market. I'm GLAD we saw you and I saved you. You don't deserve to be treated like a slave, asshole or not... and I should apologize for not warning you about Gargamel. I understand you getting upset over that. I'm sorry."

Surprised that this conversation was going differently then he expected, Branch tightened his crossed arms and looked away awkwardly. "It's fine."

Finally noticing the low temperature outside, Hefty let go of Branch and moved out of the doorway. "It's kinds chilly out here, want to come inside?"

Looking in the direction of the mushroom house he was staying in, Branch thought it over. He might actually have a better chance at resting if he stayed here at Hefty's place. "Sure..."

Branch wasn't sure what to expect when he saw the inside of Hefty's home, but he honestly wasn't surprised to see weights all over the room. He was a little alarmed though seeing one hanging over Hefty's bed. "Aren't you worried about that crushing your skull while you're sleeping?"

Looking over at his bed, Hefty just shrugged as he went and moved the weight off from his bed frame so he wouldn't worry Branch tonight. "Handy makes pretty sturdy stuff so I'm not all that worried."

Satisfied the safety hazard was out of the way, Branch sat down on the floor while Hefty moved to light a fire in his fire place.

There was one other thing Branch wanted to talk about, better do it now before he puts it off. "So, about me snapping at you earlier...Me singing is just a sensitive subject. I don't sing like everyone else and I prefer to leave it at that."

Sitting down next to him, Hefty looked at Branch's face as the troll watched the flames dance around. His large ears were drooping, and talking about his singing brought this tired and pained look to Branch's face. Hefty didn't want to cause that.

"I understand. I won't ask again, I promise. So how come you're not at your mushroom with the others?" Branch gave a tired annoyed groan. "Well I don't know about you, but a group of people who insist on staying up at an ungodly hour to goof off, then start snoring in my ears when they decide to go to sleep can make resting a challenge."

Hefty chuckled, now fully understanding why Branch was out in the middle of the night. "You can stay here if you want some shut eye." Mumbling a thanks, Branch continued to watch the fire jump around in the fire place. "Hey Hefty?"

"Yeah?"

"Since I told you a story about Trolls, think you could tell me a Smurf story?" Thinking for a moment, Hefty tried remembering some of the old Smurfy tales Papa use to tell him and the others when they were Smurflings.

"Well, there's this one story about how a long long time ago Smurfs use to be so small, they could ride rabbits like horses and made their homes out of actual mushrooms."

Branch smirked a little. "When was that? At the beginning of time?" Rolling his eyes at Branch's jab at his age, Hefty continued the story.

Listening closely, Branch closed his eyes as his eyelids started getting heavy. Humming every once and a while to assure Hefty he was still listening.

He started loosing track of the story when he could feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness. The last thing he remembered before slipping away into sleep was two strong arms lifting him off the ground, and he was surprisingly okay with it.

Normally Branch wouldn't let himself be so off guard, but in Hefty's presence he felt that it was okay enough to relax just a little bit.

__________________

Seeing Branch loosing his battle to sleep once he was done with his story, Hefty looked at Branch then towards his bed. If he woke up Branch and told him he could sleep in his bed the Troll would obviously decline, saying Hefty should sleep in his own bed.

But Hefty was the Smurf that wears his heart on his sleeve, and he wasn't about to let Branch sleep on the floor. So carefully, with the most gentle movement he could do, Hefty Smurf wrapped his arms around Branch's shoulders and legs before slowly standing up.

Branch did nothing to protest against the movement, in fact, before Branch completely relaxed in his arms, he moved his head to rest against the Smurf's strong shoulder before he started snoring softly.

Blushing, Hefty carefully moved around until he reached his bed and gently laid Branch down. Pulling up the blankets and tucking him in, Hefty watched as the Troll slept.

This is probably the most relaxed he'd ever seen Branch. Even in the woods Branch slept like a flickering candle, ears twitching at every noise and waking up when something didn't sound right.

Now though, His ears were relaxed as Branch rested peacefully. He deserved a good night sleep.

Grabbing a spare blanket and pillow, Hefty set up a little spot next to the bed and watched Branch sleep for a while before he himself started to drift off. "Sweet dreams Branch..."


	6. Chapter 6

Warmth was the first thing Branch noticed when waking up. Strange, he didn't remember feeling this comfortably warm before going to sleep.

He also could have sworn he fell asleep on the hard floor. Either Hefty's floor was softer then he thought or...

Opening his eyes and sitting up, Branch looked around and sighed in annoyance when he saw Hefty sleeping on the floor. What was with this guy and giving up his own comfort for him?

Getting out of the bed, Branch grabbed the the pillow he was using and walked over to where Hefty was sleeping. Stopping in front of him, Branch held the pillow up, and let it go, letting it land on Hefty's face.

Yelping in alarm, Hefty sat up and looked around frantically. Seeing the pillow now on his lap, the Smurf looked up at the Troll. "Why?!"

Smirking, Branch took the pillow back and threw it onto the bed. "You shouldn't have let me sleep on you bed. I'd survive if I had to sleep on the floor."

Standing up and stretching his stiff muscles, Hefty gave Branch a dirty look. "Well excuse me for being nice. You looked like you needed a good night sleep, so what if I gave up my bed for you?"

Branch just rolled his eyes and headed for the door. "Whatever, lets go get some breakfast."

Once at the Village dinning hall, the two boys found Poppy and Smurfette sitting together and sat with them once grabbing their own food.

A few minutes later, Papa Smurf entered the dinning hall. Grabbing a chair, he moved it to the middle of the room and stood on it, getting everyone's attention.

"Due to the Azrael attack yesterday I want all Smurfs to be careful until we're sure Gargamel isn't coming to close to the village. Some of the more stronger and battle ready smurfs will be the only ones to leave the village and collect supplies from the woods. The rest of you will stay in the village."

Every smurf replied with a "Yes Papa Smurf." and continued with their meal. Once Papa was back on the ground he pulled out pieces of paper and started handing them to different Smurfs.

Walking over to Hefty, Papa smiled when he saw Branch sitting with him. "Ah, I'm glad to see you two. I take it you boys cleared things up?"

Branch rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, sorry about getting upset with all of you sir."

Chuckling, the elder smurf patted Branch's head in a fatherly manner. "Water under the bridge." Turning to Hefty, Papa handed him a piece of paper. "Now Hefty, I need you to go collect these items from the woods, I'm running low on herbs that's found near the swamp, and I want you to be careful when collecting them. You think you can do that?"

Looking over the list, Hefty gave a thumbs up to Papa. "You can count on me Papa Smurf."

Once the elder moved onto the next Smurf, Branch looked at Hefty. "You're going to leave the village? By yourself?"

Tucking away the list in his hat for safe keeping, the strong Smurf shrugged. "It's no big deal, not the first time I've done this. I'll be back before sunset so until then you can check out the village more-"

Branch cut him off. "And let you get captured by Gargamel? Not a chance. You already have another rescue over my head, it's my turn to get even."

Poppy giggled as she leaned over the table and whispered to Hefty. "A.k.a, he's worried about you but he has a hard time admitting he cares."

Blushing a little, Hefty snickered as Branch shot Poppy a grumpy glare. "Okay, you can come along. With the two of us we can get this done faster."

_________________

As the two walked through the woods, Hefty looked over at Branch. "Isn't all of that stuff a little overkill Branch?"

When the Trolls came to Smurf Village, Hefty had no idea that Branch packed so many weapons. He had a bow-n-arrow set strapped to his back, a sword, and a rope attacked to his belt.

"This is not overkill... Besides, this is less then half of what I wanted to bring until Poppy stopped me." Rolling his eyes, Hefty lifted his arm and flexed it. "If we run into any trouble we'll be fine. No evil wizard or Bergan stands a chance against these bad boys."

Now it was Branch's turn to roll his eyes as he poked Hefty on his heart tattoo. "You sure about that? Or are you just trying to find a good excuse to show off how tough you THINK you are?"

Branch almost laughed at Hefty when he tried to look offended by the Troll's comment. "How tough I THINK I am?! My toughness is fact pal! You saw how I took down Azrael and did a bunch of other hard stuff!"

Chuckling a little, Branch gave Hefty a smirk. "True, but any normal hard working man or woman could do stuff like that. I saw Smurf Storm carrying two giant logs as she was helping with that bridge you guys are building."

Hefty scoffed at the troll. "That's nothing! Storm may be the second strongest Smurf in the village, but I am THE strongest, toughest Smurf around. Just ask anyone."

The two continued their playful bickering until they reached the swamp and started collecting the things on Papa Smurf's list. Looking over a plant, Branch was about to ask Hefty if it was on the list before pausing and shifting his ears around.

Someone was coming.

Rushing over to Hefty, The Troll grabbed the Smurf's arm and quickly rushed behind some bushes. Before Hefty could question him Branch covered his mouth with his hand, which was now covered in mud due to their hiding spot.

Peaking through the bushes, Branch watched as a group of creatures walked into the open. Wow, and he thought Bergans were unpleasant to look at. These things had more warts then any Bergan he ever saw.

Removing Branch's hand, Hefty tried cleaning the mud off his face as he looked at the new creatures himself. "Ah Smurf, the Wartmongers..."

Of coarse Hefty knew these guys. Giving the Smurf a annoyed/tired glare, Branch whispered. "Let me guess, another enemy that wants your magic that you neglected to tell me about?"

Smiling timidly, Hefty shrugged. "Not really, they're actually kinda mad at us for freeing all of their pixie slaves so they want to catch us and turn us to gold... So technically they don't want us for our magic."

Branch had the most deadpanned look on his face Hefty has ever seen on anyone before. "You seriously thought that wasn't in the same realm of things I should know?"

"Did you guys hear something?"

Looking through the bushes again, the two of them saw the Wartmongers looking around and holding up their weapons.

The Wartmongers weren't as bad as Gargamel, but they were still bad news, and Hefty didn't want Branch getting hurt because of these guys. "Branch, run back to the village. If I don't come back a half hour after you arrive, tell Papa Smurf that they caught me."

Before Branch could argue, Hefty cut him off. "I don't want you to be put in danger again. I'll distract them while you run okay?"

Branch looked like he wanted to argue with Hefty, but he stopped himself and thought it over. After a moment he nodded. "Be careful."

As the two split ways, Hefty quickly scooped up some mud into his hands and threw it at one of the Wartmongers, nailing him in the back of the head. "HEY UGLY!"

Quickly booking it the other direction, Hefty could hear the Wartmongers swearing and giving chase to him. He did sharp turns in different directions trying to throw the creatures off his tail, and quickly jumped behind a boulder, cringing as more cold mud soaked into his clothes.

Slowly, trying not to made a noise, Hefty moved to look over the boulder. Confused when he didn't see the Wartmongers anymore, he began to worry that they might have spotted Branch and chased after him.

"Well hello there little Smurf."

Spinning back around, Hefty froze when he saw a blade pointed inches away from his nose. Slowly raising his hands up in surrender, the Strong Smurf didn't move as two of the three Wartmongers moved to his sides and pulled out some rope.

Within minutes Hefty's arms were tied to his sides and his wrists were tied in front of him as the Wartmongers lead him back to their home. "The King sure will be pleased to see we caught one of you smurfs! He's still rather crossed over what happened during our last encounter."

Giving a small smirk at that memory, Hefty looked at the ropes. He could definitely break out of these, but the creatures had weapons on them and could hurt him if he tried a quick reckless escape.

Maybe Branch bringing those weapons wasn't overkill.

Busy with his thinking, Hefty was surprised when something flew past him and narrowly missed one of the Wartmongers foot, making him yelp in alarm. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

Sticking his hand in the muddy swamp water, the leader of the group pulled out an arrow. As two of them were busy inspecting the arrow and wondering where it came from, the third stood close to Hefty to make sure he didn't run.

Suddenly, something dropped around the third Wartmonger. Before he could look down and process what it was, the rope quickly tightened around his legs and yanked him up into the air. He screamed in fear before a quick blow to the head knocked him out.

Turning around when hearing their comrade scream, The leader of the group ended up getting kicked in the face when Branch swung down from the tree.

As he watched his leader drop unconscious into the swamp water, the last standing Wartmonger pulled out a dagger and let out a battle cry as he charged for Branch.

With his faster reflexes, Branch grabbed two arrows, aimed, and released. The Wartmonger's back slammed into the trunk of a tree as the arrows pierced his shirt, pinning him.

With one quick punch to the face, the last of the Wartmongers was down for the count, and Hefty stood there with his jaw dropped.

Branch single handed took down 3 armed Wartmongers with such amazing skill and speed, it would even impress Smurf Storm.

This troll was just to, amazing.

Hearing Branch clear his throat, Hefty snapped out of it and looked at Branch who was looking uncomfortably awkward.

Smurf, was he staring this whole time? "What happened to the whole, running back to Smurf Village, thing?"

Walking up to Hefty, Branch reached for the sword he had on him. "As if you'd let me fight all those guys if you knew what I was planning. Hold still, I'll cut you free."

Looking down at himself, Hefty remembered the ropes. "Oh, right, hold on."

_SNAP!_

Now it was Branch's turn for his jaw to drop as he watched Hefty break the thick ropes like they were string. "Damn Hefty..."

Smiling, Hefty lifted his mud covered arms and flexed. "Impressive right? They could have used iron chains and it still would have been a piece of cake to break free."

"Okay, now you're just being a show off."

Laughing, Hefty looked over the unconscious Wartmongers one last time before looking back at Branch. "I think we have enough of what Papa asked for. Time to head back?"

Gladly agreeing, Branch put away his weapons as he and Hefty began walking back towards Smurf Village. Now with everything calming down the Troll finally had a good chance to look himself and Hefty over in case of un-noticed injuries. 

They were both fine, but they were covered in mud from the struggle. Hefty especially since he was trying to distract those creatures which resulted in his capture.

Remembering something, Branch snorted and chuckled a little, catching the Smurf's attention. "What?"

Smiling, Branch looked up at Hefty. "Guess we're even now."

Thinking for a moment, Hefty remembered their conversation during breakfast and chuckled as well.  "Looks like we are."

__________________

The sun was starting to go down, Branch and Hefty weren't back yet, Poppy was starting to worry.

Waiting near the part of the magic camouflage shield where Branch and Hefty left through, Smurfette watched as Poppy walked around nervously. "Poppy I'm sure they're fine. Hefty can handle any problem and from what I've seen it seems like Branch can too."

Before Poppy could say anything to Smurfette, Branch and Hefty walked through the magic shield, both of them covered in mud. snickering at the messy boys, Smurfette walked over to them. "Papa told you to look for herbs, not mud wrestle."

Chuckling, Hefty tried shaking more mud off his sleeves. "Well, we got into a little bit of trouble, but Branch actually took care of it so being covered in mud isn't to bad compared to what could have happened."

Hearing that they had trouble on their trip, Poppy looked Branch over to make sure he wasn't hurt. "Branch you're going to give me a heart attack from worrying so much! Honestly, and you call me the danger prone troll."

Branch planned on saying something snarky back to Poppy, but a familiar _PING_ came from the Princess's wrist and Branch got a better idea. "Well would you look at that, it's hug time."

Looking at Branch confused, it suddenly hit her when she saw Branch lift his arms up. His mud covered arms. "Wait, BRANCH!"

Pulling the Princess into a tight hug, Branch laughed as his friend squealed from the mud soaking into her dress, but soon gave into this rare hug and started hugging back. "You're such a jerk Branch."

"I know."

Watching this, Smurfette laughed. Those two were the cutest friends she had ever seen. The Smurf was caught by surprise though when a pair of arms wrapped around her and lifted her into the air. "HUG TIME!"

Realizing it was Hefty who was hugging her, Smurfette started lightly smacking the top of Hefty's head, causing him to start laughing. "HEFTY SMURF I JUST CLEANED THIS DRESS YESTERDAY!"


	7. Chapter 7

After giving Papa the herbs he asked for, the two men were quickly shooed out of the mushroom house and ordered to go wash up before dinner by the elder smurf.

With the sun going down and the stars starting to shine, Branch and Hefty made their way to a stream that the village used for cleaning up. It was somewhat hidden by the trees and bushes nearby, so they could get pretty decent privacy even if anyone was still out.

dumping his dirty clothes in a pile next to his clean clothes, Hefty got into the water and shivered at the cold temperature. As he started rubbing at the mud caking his arm, the smurf stopped and looked up at the troll when he heard a snort.

Branch had only removed his shirt so far, and right now he was avoiding looking at Hefty with his hand over his mouth. Hefty started to blush. "What's so funny?"

Clearing his throat, Branch continued to undress. "Sorry, I was just caught off guard. I didn't know you guys had tails."

Shifting around so he could see behind himself, Hefty looked at his little round, blue tail. "Oh yeah. We keep them hidden so it's harder for people to spot us in a crowd. Nothing says suspicious like a person with a blue tail coming out of the back of their pants."

With an amused smile, Branch dumped his dirty clothes on the ground as well and got into the water. "Yeah, that would be kinda obvious."

Looking up, Hefty paused when he saw Branch.

He was more muscular then the Smurf thought, his clothes just hid it well. Branch's skin was also littered with random scars from over the years. "Jeez Branch, you like picking a fight often?"

Looking at himself, Branch realized what Hefty meant when he noticed his own scars. "Oh, not really. Some of these are from trying to self teach myself how to use weapons and learning how to survive on my own."

While telling Hefty the stories behind some scars, Branch momentarily turned his back to the Smurf so he could grab the soap he brought with so he could try scrubbing off more dirt.

What Hefty saw on Branch's back made his heart ache in shock and horror.

Those scars weren't caused by Branch trying to teach himself how to use weapons, there was no way he'd be able to reach back there and make scars in that shape or angle.

They looked old, and painful.

If Hefty ever saw a Bergen again he was going to END them.

When Branch turned back around, Hefty quickly looked away to make sure the troll didn't see him staring. Branch didn't like talking about personal things, so Hefty wasn't going to even bother asking.

He did see in the corner of his eye though that Branch was trying to brush his fingers through his messy hair, but was having a hard time with the dried mud making it stick together.

"Need some help?"

A little surprised by Hefty's offer to help, Branch just shrugged. "Sure if you want to."

As Hefty worked to help Branch clean out his hair, he tried avoiding looking at his friend's back and instead looked at Branch's arm "So how did you get that weird looking scar on your arm?"

As Branch told his story about his embarrassing first attempt to set up a trap, (and Hefty isn't ashamed to say he laughed, a lot, while Branch shot him dirty looks) Hefty managed to clean off the troll's hair without pulling to much on it.

Once Branch turned to face Hefty though, the Smurf had to bite his tongue and fight off a couple of snickers at the sight of Branch.

His usually poofy black hair was now flat and was trying to hide his face. Brushing his soggy hair away from his eyes, Branch glared at Hefty. "Laugh at me, and I'm telling Poppy about your blue bunny tail."

Branch had to fight off his own chuckles when Hefty scowled at him. "It's not a bunny tail."

____________

Now that the two were cleaned up from their adventure, they got a quick bite to eat for dinner before parting ways for the night.

The moment Branch stepped back into the mushroom he was sharing with the snack pack, he almost regretted it when he saw everyone's faces when they looked at him. "...What?"

Guy Diamond walked over and nudged Branch a little, ignoring the glares he got got invading Branch's personal bubble. "So Branch, spending the night AND bathing with your knight in shinning armor huh? Should we expect wedding invitations in the near future?"

If it wasn't for Poppy being in the room, Branch would have tried to punch Guy. Instead though he shoved him away as he walked further inside. "You're all idiots if you think that."

Sitting criss-cross on his bed, Creek smirked as he combed through his hair. "Your aura says otherwise mate. Besides, it's obvious you tolerate him much more then most people. Last time someone tried holding your hand you tried breaking theirs."

Branch returned his own smirk. "Bet you remember that pretty fondly Creek. Your hand doing any better by the way?"

Before Creek could answer, Branch cut him off. " I was being sarcastic. Anyways, I tolerate Hefty more because he's less of a pain then you guys. It took Poppy 20 years for me to actually like her."

The princess nodded. "As true as that may be, even if you did like Hefty it wouldn't be a big surprise. I'm actually REALLY starting to warm up to Smurfette. She's so cute when ever she blushes and her face turns super blue!"

Creek chuckled. "I must admit, Brainy is growing on me. We've been spending a lot of time together since we got here. He gets so excited explaining his inventions and research. Quite adorable."

Humming dreamily, Guy leaned against the wall with a smile. "And that Vanity is very good looking."

Pulling freshly made cupcakes out of the mushroom's stove, Cooper looked at Guy. "Don't most Smurfs look like Vanity?"

The Glitter Troll just shrugged. "He has a unique handsomeness to him that no other Smurf has. Takes a good eye to notice."

For the rest of the night everyone continued playfully teasing Branch until he threatened to put bear traps in all of their homes once they get back to Troll Village. Once everyone started to settle down (and promising to be quiet tonight so they don't drive Branch out again) the grumpy troll had a decent break to think as he tried going to sleep.

Did he really act nicer towards Hefty?

Was it because he saved him?

He sure hoped not. That just made him feel like he was acting like some kind of story book princess who automatically wanted to marry the one who saved her.

No, that's SO not the reason why. He didn't even like Hefty that way. The Smurf was just a friend.

Besides, getting into a relationship with a Smurf would probably be a bad idea. Smurfs live much longer then trolls, it would be unfair to Hef- other Smurfs who fall in love with other trolls.

Hefty deserved a nice smurf to live the rest of his life with. Someone who didn't mind his ego, his obsession with weight lifting, his constant showing off, and his cute smile-

Quickly shaking his head, Branch quickly made himself think of a different subject as he attempted to go to sleep.

____________

"I told you so."

"You said I'd crack my head open. My head is still in one piece Mr. Safety."

If Hefty wasn't already injured, Branch would have hurt him. Today the strong Smurf introduced what Branch thought was one of the most dangerous things he ever seen.

Smurfboarding.

He warned Hefty to at least wear something protective, but did this Smurf with the big ego listen? Nope. Now he was stuck helping his limping friend back into the village. "You're still bleeding and you have a big bruise on your leg from how you landed. You're lucky you didn't break it."

  
Hefty cringed a little as he tried putting more weight on his injuries leg. "I'll admit, it wasn't one of my best moments. I'm usually pretty good at Smurfboarding."

He wasn't about to admit though that he got distracted trying to show off to Branch.

Arriving at the Mushroom he was staying at with the others, Branch grabbed the door nob, opening the door as he looked at Hefty. "Thankfully you're not seriously hurt. I can patch you up with my first aid kit and-"

Both men froze at what they saw inside. Sitting together, Poppy and Smurfette hadn't noticed the other two enter. Both of them distracted with kissing.

Watching for a moment, Branch threw his free arm up exasperated. "SERIOUSLY? Poppy we've only been here for like, 2 days!"

Finally noticing them, the girls pulled apart. Smurfette started turning a deep shade of blue as Poppy pouted at Branch for ruining the moment. "Shut up Branch she's a cutie! Also what happened to Hefty?"

Walking inside, Branch set Hefty down on his temporary bed and went to go look for his first aid kit in his bag. "Hefty tried showing me Smurfboarding. Nearly broke his neck."

While Branch and Poppy talked, Hefty looked at Smurfette. His face forming some sort of frustrated pout.

Noticing this, Smurfette blushed harder as she played with her hair nervously. "What?"

"Lucky."

Processing what Hefty meant by that, Smurfette laughed a little as she moved to Hefty's side and patted his back. "You'll get your chance eventually."


End file.
